8x8 Women | Salma Nims

Salma Nims

Current Position

Secretary General : Jordanian National Commission for Women

  • Develop the strategic direction and vision for JNCW.

  • Work with JNCW board and planning team to develop JNCW strategy for 2016 – 2018 and its annual Action Plans.

  • Mobilization of resources and technical assistance relations with major donor organizations, i.e. UNWOMEN, USAID, etc.

  • Build strategic relations with donors and INGOs implementing relevant gender programs and leading synergy and coordinating efforts between them.

  • Lead the institutional development process of JNCW: developing M&E system, revising the organizational structure to respond to the strategic direction of JNCW, reviewing job descriptions, HR manual and JNCW by-laws, and financial systems, and planning JNCW team capacity building efforts.

  • Lead the process of the development of a communication strategy for JNCW.

  • Carry out policy dialogue with the government and decision-makers towards shifting the development agenda towards mainstreaming gender and achieving gender equality.

  • Building strong coalition and coordination relations with women and human rights civil society organizations, through dialogue and structured mechanisms to build consensus over: National Women Strategy, Legal Amendments Demands list that is submitted to the government and the parliament regularly, the preparation of the National report on CEDAW commitments and Beijing Declaration and Platform Progress report among other Human and Women rights national and regional reports, and all advocacy and lobbying efforts.

The Jordanian National Commission for Women is the main woman national machinery established by a cabinet decree in 1992; its mandate is set in alliance with the Beijing Declaration and Platform. JNCW leads the gender mainstreaming efforts at the policy and strategic planning, with recent focus on the Sustainable Development Goals for 2030. It implements its work through several networks such as: Governmental Network for Gender Divisions, the Women NGOs Coordinating Committee, the Media Team, the Legal Experts Team, among others. JNCW is also leading the National Coalition for the Implementation of UNSCR 1325.


Education

PhD in Development Planning Studies and Political Ecology: University College London, Development Planning Unit, London, UK

  • Dissertation Topic: The Dynamics of Socio-environmental Conflict in the Changing Context of Common Pool Resources: Water Management in the Jordan Valley.

  • Research adopts an engendered approach and framework to understand conflict over natural resources as a manifestation of broader political, cultural and economic forces.


MSc. Environmentally Sustainable Development: University College London, Development Planning Unit, London, UK

  • Dissertation: Social perception of water problems in Jordan, with distinction.

  • Academic and practical training approach focused on mainstreaming gender and environmental issues within development and urban planning practices.


BSc. Architectural Engineering: University of Jordan, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Amman, Jordan


Experience

Founder and Executive Director: Taqaddam Platform, Amman Jordan

As a start-up organisation and in coordination with the Executive Board, the responsibilities of the executive director included:

  • Establish the organisational structure and the managements systems of the organisation.

  • Develop the strategic plan and the M&E system.

  • Implementing Taqaddam Platform objectives for the years 2013 -2014.

  • Expanding Taqaddam Platform outreach and support through volunteers network and advocacy efforts.

  • Coordinating and networking with the lead civil society and reform initiatives in Jordan; building coalitions to develop, mainstream and advocate for a positive discourse towards change in Jordan.

  • Establish the presence of Taqaddam Platform in the public sphere through building content, carrying out activities and presence in the social and conventional media.


Gender Advisor and Trainer: Canadian Agriteam, Amman Jorda

  • Providing policy, programming and implementation support for mainstreaming gender within the School and District Development project in the context of stage I and II of the Educational Reform for the Knowledge Economy Program (ERfKE).

  • Mainstreaming gender in Monitoring and Evaluation framework of the programme, developing gender indicators and rubrics for assessing progress in gender sensitive planning using RBM methods.

  • Design of gender training and gender training of trainers’ modules, including gender sensitive result-based management.

  • Training of gender trainers of MoE employees at the centre and district levels.


Gender Advisor and Trainer: United Nations Children’s Fund, Jordan Country Office

  • Review gender equality in JCO programmes and identify knowledge gaps within JCO team and build the capacity of programme staff on gender mainstreaming.

  • Provide advice on the mainstreaming of gender in JCO country program document, country program action plan and Results Matrix.

  • To develop a gender equality action plan based on the results of the review of gender mainstreaming in JCO programme and gender equality knowledge among UNICEF Jordan staff.


Gender Advisor: United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and Women Empowerment, UNWOMEN, Amman, Jordan

  • Providing support for the UNDAF process on gender mainstreaming issues.

  • Ensure that gender and women empowerment as a UNWOMEN mandate is included in the UNDAF document.

  • Ensure the engendering of the UNDAF document in narrative and the matrix, including gender qualitative and quantitative indicators.

  • Evaluate and report on UNCT (United Nations country team) Gender Performance Indicators.


Gender Advisor and trainer: UNICEF MENA Regional Office, Amman, Jordan

Gender audit and assessment of training needs, design and delivery of training on mainstreaming gender in UNICEF MENA Regional Office.


Gender Trainer: Jordanian National Commission for Women (JNCW), Amman, Jordan

Design and conduct training to middle- and high-level employees of the Ministry of Labour on mainstreaming gender at policy, programmatic and services level, within the context of the Danish government funded programme Engendering the Public Sphere.


Gender Specialist, freelance consultant: Academy for Educational Development (AED), Amman Office

Gender assessment and development of a Strategic intervention for the Ministry of Social Development (MoSD), a USAID & CIDA funded Project; Specific focus on assessing MOSD VAW services, documenting internal and external procedures, assessing inter-agency cooperation, outreach services and exploring possibilities for institutionalisation of current and future cooperation opportunities.


Gender Specialist, freelance consultant: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Jordan Country Office

Gender assessment and development of a Two-Year Gender Action Plan for UNDP-JCO


Gender Specialist, freelance consultant: United Nations Development Programme, Iraq Country Office, Amman, Jordan

Gender Assessment of UNDP-Iraq Country Office and development of a Two-Year Action plan for mainstreaming gender for UNDP-Iraq Office.


Gender Specialist, freelance consultant: United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Amman, Jordan

Developing a three-year joint work plan and proposal on a multi-stakeholder joint programming on VAW.


Gender Specialist and Fundraising Officer : National Council for Family Affairs (NCFA), Amman, Jordan

Preparation of Project Proposals on various areas of concern including strengthening of family protection services against violence, empowerment of female leaders, combating child labour, development of family counselling service, etc and preparing concept papers and policy briefs.


Project Coordinato: United Nations Development Fund for Women, UNIFEM, Arab States Regional Office, Jordan

Acting Head of Gender Division: Responsibilities included:

  • Building up the gender division at MOPIC: setting up a staff plan, writing up the staff TOR, recruitment, training plans and management of the division.

  • Carry out a gender audit of MOPIC strategies, programmes, and internal operations.

  • Enhancing the mainstreaming of gender perspective in the context of strategic national planning, devising of programs and projects, and monitoring and evaluation.


Part time co-lecturer for a Master course in Environment and Sustainable Development teaching: Development Planning Unit, University College London. United Kingdom


Freelance consultant :

Freelance consultant Consultation to propose an integrated development program for a pilot area in the context of the Social Productivity Program – A project funded by the World Bank, the Government of Jordan and a number of other funding agencies including USAID and the European Union.


Various position and consultancies in architectural design, urban planning and sustainable development


Membership of Committees and Boards

  • Taqaddam Platform, Founder and member of Executive Board.

  • Higher Population Council, Board member.

  • The National Plan for Human Rights, Steering Committee member.

  • Democratic Empowerment Program, King Abdullah Fund for Development, Technical Committee Member.

  • Employment and Development Fund, Ministry of Labour, Board member.

  • Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development, ARDD-Legal Aid, Advisory Board member.

  • Jordan Vision - 2025, Steering Committee member.

  • Jordanian Executive Development Program, Steering and Coordinating Committee Member.

  • Center for Defending Freedom of Journalists, Board member.


Scholarships and awards

  • Karim Rida Said Foundation scholarship, London, United Kingdom
    A partial scholarship to obtain a PhD in Planning Studies.

  • Population Council, Cairo, Egypt A fieldwork scholarship in the Jordan Valley to obtain PhD in Planning Studies

  • The Arab British Chamber Charitable Foundation, United Kingdom
    A partial scholarship funding outstanding Arab research students in the UK.

  • Overseas Research Students Award, Council of British Universities,
    United Kingdom A partial scholarship funding outstanding overseas research students.

  • Karim Rida Said Foundation scholarship, London, United Kingdom.
    Studying for the MSc. in Sustainable Development at University College London.


Personal detail

  • Date of Birth: July, 6, 1971

  • Gender: Female

  • Nationality: Jordanian